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Sin, Confession and Redemption

59 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,nor his ear too dull to hear.2 But your iniquities have separatedyou from your God;your sins have hidden his face from you,so that he will not hear.3 For your hands are stained with blood,your fingers with guilt.Your lips have spoken falsely,and your tongue mutters wicked things.4 No one calls for justice;no one pleads a case with integrity.They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.5 They hatch the eggs of vipersand spin a spider’s web.Whoever eats their eggs will die,and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;they cannot cover themselves with what they make.Their deeds are evil deeds,and acts of violence are in their hands.7 Their feet rush into sin;they are swift to shed innocent blood.They pursue evil schemes;acts of violence mark their ways.8 The way of peace they do not know;there is no justice in their paths.They have turned them into crooked roads;no one who walks along them will know peace.

9 So justice is far from us,and righteousness does not reach us.We look for light, but all is darkness;for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.10 Like the blind we grope along the wall,feeling our way like people without eyes.At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;among the strong, we are like the dead.11 We all growl like bears;we moan mournfully like doves.We look for justice, but find none;for deliverance, but it is far away.

12 For our offenses are many in your sight,and our sins testify against us.Our offenses are ever with us,and we acknowledge our iniquities:13 rebellion and treachery against the Lord,turning our backs on our God,inciting revolt and oppression,uttering lies our hearts have conceived.14 So justice is driven back,and righteousness stands at a distance;truth has stumbled in the streets,honesty cannot enter.15 Truth is nowhere to be found,and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeasedthat there was no justice.16 He saw that there was no one,he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;so his own arm achieved salvation for him,and his own righteousness sustained him.17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,and the helmet of salvation on his head;he put on the garments of vengeanceand wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.18 According to what they have done,so will he repaywrath to his enemiesand retribution to his foes;he will repay the islands their due.19 From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.For he will come like a pent-up floodthat the breath of the Lord drives along.[a]

20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”declares the Lord.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

The Glory of Zion

60 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.2 See, darkness covers the earthand thick darkness is over the peoples,but the Lord rises upon youand his glory appears over you.3 Nations will come to your light,and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:All assemble and come to you;your sons come from afar,and your daughters are carried on the hip.5 Then you will look and be radiant,your heart will throb and swell with joy;the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,to you the riches of the nations will come.6 Herds of camels will cover your land,young camels of Midian and Ephah.And all from Sheba will come,bearing gold and incenseand proclaiming the praise of the Lord.7 All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,and I will adorn my glorious temple.

8 “Who are these that fly along like clouds,like doves to their nests?9 Surely the islands look to me;in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[b]bringing your children from afar,with their silver and gold,to the honor of the Lord your God,the Holy One of Israel,for he has endowed you with splendor.

10 “Foreigners will rebuild your walls,and their kings will serve you.Though in anger I struck you,in favor I will show you compassion.11 Your gates will always stand open,they will never be shut, day or night,so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—their kings led in triumphal procession.12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;it will be utterly ruined.

13 “The glory of Lebanon will come to you,the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,to adorn my sanctuary;and I will glorify the place for my feet.14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you;all who despise you will bow down at your feetand will call you the City of the Lord,Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15 “Although you have been forsaken and hated,with no one traveling through,I will make you the everlasting prideand the joy of all generations.16 You will drink the milk of nationsand be nursed at royal breasts.Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior,your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,and silver in place of iron.Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,and iron in place of stones.I will make peace your governorand well-being your ruler.18 No longer will violence be heard in your land,nor ruin or destruction within your borders,but you will call your walls Salvationand your gates Praise.19 The sun will no more be your light by day,nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,for the Lord will be your everlasting light,and your God will be your glory.20 Your sun will never set again,and your moon will wane no more;the Lord will be your everlasting light,and your days of sorrow will end.21 Then all your people will be righteousand they will possess the land forever.They are the shoot I have planted,the work of my hands,for the display of my splendor.22 The least of you will become a thousand,the smallest a mighty nation.I am the Lord;in its time I will do this swiftly.”

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim freedom for the captivesand release from darkness for the prisoners,[c]2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favorand the day of vengeance of our God,to comfort all who mourn,3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beautyinstead of ashes,the oil of joyinstead of mourning,and a garment of praiseinstead of a spirit of despair.They will be called oaks of righteousness,a planting of the Lordfor the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruinsand restore the places long devastated;they will renew the ruined citiesthat have been devastated for generations.5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,you will be named ministers of our God.You will feed on the wealth of nations,and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shameyou will receive a double portion,and instead of disgraceyou will rejoice in your inheritance.And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,and everlasting joy will be yours.

8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;I hate robbery and wrongdoing.In my faithfulness I will reward my peopleand make an everlasting covenant with them.9 Their descendants will be known among the nationsand their offspring among the peoples.All who see them will acknowledgethat they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

10 I delight greatly in the Lord;my soul rejoices in my God.For he has clothed me with garments of salvationand arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11 For as the soil makes the sprout come upand a garden causes seeds to grow,so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousnessand praise spring up before all nations.

Footnotes:

Isaiah 59:19Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight

Request for Prayer

3 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith.3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

Warning Against Idleness

6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us.7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you,8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

11 We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies.12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.

14 Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed.15 Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.

Final Greetings

16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

17 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.

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